Kentucky escapes a late run by Missouri to get a 91-83 win on the road

The Wildcats end the season with a top 15 win over the Tigers.

Mar 1, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his players during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball ended their regular season on Saturday on the road to take on the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, and they ended it on a high note, avoiding a late run by Missouri to pick up a 91-83 win. A game that had major seeding implications for both the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats took home another top 15 win, which ties them for the most top 15 wins all-time in a single season in college basketball.

The Wildcats, who struggled at the start of the game, found themselves struggling with Missouri's offensive pressure, falling down 11-4 early, but an 11-2 run thanks to a scoring drought from the Tigers was exactly what Kentucky needed to get themselves going. From there, the Wildcats were absolutely hot from three-point range, even leading by as much as 16 points in the second half, but a drought from them and a run by Missouri cut that lead to single digits down the stretch, where the Wildcats ultimately were able to hold on.

Missouri is a team that loves to get out in transition and feed off of steals, but Kentucky did a great job of limiting that until down the stretch of the second half, as the Tigers used some of that to get back into the game. Despite that, though, Kentucky made some plays down the stretch to avoid the big scare. Andrew Carr was huge for Kentucky, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists. Otega Oweh led the team with 22 points, Koby Brea with 17, and Amari Williams with 14. Kentucky shot 48% and 11-20 from three, while Missouri was 44% overall and 11-28 from deep.

Despite that scare down the stretch, Kentucky held on and finished the regular season with yet another big resume win. With the victory, Kentucky guarantees either a No. 5, 6, or 7 seed in the SEC Tournament, while likely also positioning themselves firmly on the 3 seed line in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats will get a couple of days off as they prepare for the SEC Tournament next week, where they'll play next Thursday in Nashville. The time and opponent will be announced soon.